Embracing Faith Over Doubt: Timeless Lessons from the Shores of Yom Suf

What happens when faith turns to doubt in the blink of an eye? Join us as we uncover the gripping story of the Jewish people at the edge of the Yom Suf, grappling with fear and uncertainty as Pharaoh's army bears down upon them. This episode offers an enlightening exploration of how quickly doubt can overshadow faith when results don't come swiftly. Drawing insights from the Ramban and Mechilta, we discuss the timeless wisdom of persistence in faith and prayer, as exemplified by our ancestors, and the dangers of allowing second thoughts to derail us. 

We peel back the layers of this dramatic moment in the Parsha Uparo Hikriv, examining the emotional journey from fervent prayer to blasphemous sarcasm and back again. Through this deep analysis, we challenge the temptation to give up too soon and underscore the power of patience and trust in divine timing. Our conversation is a call to hold steadfast to the rich inheritance of faith and prayer passed down from our forefathers, urging listeners to patiently await the miracles that often unfold when least expected. Tune in for a narrative that invites you to trust, pray, and witness the magic of unwavering belief.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

From faith and trust to blasphemous sarcasm in the very blink of an eye. That's what happens in our Parsha Uparo Hikriv. The Egyptians are gaining on the Jews, the Jewish people standing on the very foot of Yom Suf, crying out to Hashem. And they see that while the Egyptians are advancing on them by Yeru Mo'od and they become very overwhelmed with fear of what's going to happen. Pharaoh will now take his revenge out upon us. By Yitzhak Ubeni, yisrael El Hashem and the Jewish people, they cry out to God, zok, the Holy Rashi. What does it mean that they cried out Tof su'um nisavosam? What does it mean that they cried out Tof su'um nisavosam? They grabbed on to the very same entrepreneurial business endeavor and occupation that our forefathers grabbed onto when they were in trouble the umnis, the occupation of prayer. Hashem, save me, save us. We have nowhere else to turn. But then in Pasuk Yad Aleph, kind of like a changing of the guard in a millisecond. Moses, you took us out here to die. Where there are not enough graves in Egypt, they had to find more graves out here in the wilderness. Blasphemous sarcasm that's what we see from the Dardai. How do we make sense of this?

Speaker 1: 1:36

From the holiest generation, the Ramban asked the question. He tells us a scary aside. Remember it for life, based on the Mechilta, the Medrash. You'll find it here, it's at the very bottom of the Rambans. He brings a couple explanations. He tells us that they trusted and they prayed and they trusted and they prayed. But after they prayed they saw Haloyza ha-dovar, that Ashparu is no seh the car about lamb. Their feelings were not answered. Things were getting worse. The couple was not happily married. They weren't staying happily married. You keep diving. It's not working. The person isn't becoming expecting. The Shidduch is not coming to fruition. It's not working.

Speaker 1: 2:22

As Az-omru, as Paro got closer and the stress became worse, they said to themselves prayers must not have been accepted. They had bad thoughts, second thoughts. They wanted to reanalyze the entire topic that they already had clear, to go back. And maybe Moses can't be trusted, maybe we really. He just wanted to have more graves out here. There wasn't enough in Egypt. They had the problem of second thoughts, of doubting the process that they already understood was the right way to go.

Speaker 1: 2:58

The oneness that the Jewish people have to solve their problems and let there be no stuttering or doubt about it is prayer and will always be prayer. That is what we inherited from our great billionaire grandfathers the illness of tefillah. But after one by itsaku, a crying out of prayer, and immediately that they didn't see the divine salvation, without seeing any new information except for just a little bit more anxiety, they threw prayer away and began the blasphemous sarcasm. The answer to how someone deals with their problems, the Ramban tells us, is not to go about it with sakira, which means second thoughts and oh, maybe I was wrong. The answer's always prayer, and it's then trust and faith and more prayer Kaveh al Hashem, v'chazak, v'yametz, libech, and then daven again.

Speaker 1: 3:53

V'kaveh al Hashem, and only if we would have waited just one more pasuk and remained trustworthy and would have kept our belief up high. The very next Pasuk is everybody hush Because, hashem, get your popcorn, watch the show and hush, hush being quiet, because otherwise you will miss the great annihilation as the waters split for the Jewish people. Pray, trust your gut, follow what you know is the billion-dollar inheritance that you have inherited from your great-grandparents, avraham, yitzhak and Yaakov. And if you don't get an immediate answer, don't throw it all away and become blasphemous and sarcastic, but rather trust, wait, pray again and then hush and watch the magic all happen.